Totoko Yowai
Totoko Yowai (弱井 トト子 Yowai Totoko), created by Fujio Akatsuka, is a supporting cast member in Osomatsu-kun. She also serves as part of Akatsuka's Star System, much like the other prominent characters in the series. She is notable for being considered the heroine of the title, though often simply used as the girl the sextuplets and Chibita are interested in. The surname of "Yowai" tends to only exist in her early appearances or when she is specified as the daughter of a fishmonger, otherwise she may be simply "Totoko" and her family situation may differ. Overview Introduced in the 10th chapter of the series, Totoko becomes one of the recurring side characters of the series but is often less prioritized when it comes to screentime or any major roles (due to the shonen demographic). She is a young girl that lives in the sextuplets' neighborhood, and who they all share feelings for in one of the things that they can agree upon. As with her parental situation, her age may vary for specific settings; she is usually set at the same age as the sextuplets (10) or slightly older for a given story, but may at other times be a young adult. This is particularly evident in the final Shonen Sunday -kun story. Her first appearance in -kun fell two weeks after the debut of Akko-chan; Akatsuka may have re-used the design as a nod or to convey the image of a similar cute heroine (if having not even initially intending the two to be the same). It is said that Akatsuka claimed that when he drew a "gentle face", the re-use of Akko's design only became natural. Physical Appearance She is a slim, tall young girl, designed in the fashion of having considerable stature over the boys the same age and falling in line with other Akatsuka heroines' proportions. As with Akko, she has a very characteristic hairstyle of pigtails and a large bouffant/bun-like swell of hair atop the crown of her head. A headband is often worn over it, along with a pair of ribbons for the pigtails. Her fashion can vary a lot more than the sextuplets', but she can usually be seen wearing some form of dress or jumper skirt, or a two-piece top and skirt. Modern Fujio Pro color artwork tend to depict her fashion as a peach/orange color as to not stand out more than Akko, although other different covers and illustrations can have a variety of color schemes for her. The color of the headband and hair ribbons may also depend on the illustration, but it is common to see the headband depicted red and the ribbons as yellow. The manga artwork has her hair inked in a simple monochromatic black with no highlighting, though color anime adaptations will tend to give her deep brown hair instead. Personality She is serious, studious, and a friendly young girl who is the idol of many young boys at school and around town. But her gentle appearance and kindness is not infinite, and she can easily be short-tempered and violent, having little patience for being wronged or frustrated by any fooling around or upset caused by the sextuplets (in particular Osomatsu). When angered, she will showcase her "body blow" punch which can easily floor a target, or she will take some other form of violent revenge. The strength setting was downplayed through the manga, however, with Totoko more often being shown as an ordinary girl considered morally above the sextuplets and out of their reach when it came to their futile attempts to find out who she liked or to impress her. Even so, she may still get frustrated and jealous if they ignore her for another girl (as with Kinko), and she seems to be relied upon by the boys to help with their grades. Though she is excellent at school work, her cooking skill is absymal and will make others sick. By the third run of the -kun manga, she is still set in a heroine role but is considered a bit scummier than her original depiction. She will join in unreasonable acts or even instigate them, and her language becomes rougher. Another instance has the sextuplets comment that her "image has fallen" for them, when they witness her being eager to eat the space poop and gladly trying it. Relationships with Other Characters Family and Lookalikes History Osomatsu-kun (manga) Appearances in Animation Osomatsu-kun (1966) Furious Ataro (1969) Osomatsu-kun (1988) Heisei Genius Bakabon Totoko is limited to appearing in a brief, silent cameo in episode 45, when she is shown as one of Bakabon's 5th grade classmates. Osomatsu-san For additional detailed information, see also the Osomatsu-san wiki Portrayals Voice Acting *1965 Sonosheet "We'll Do Anything In 6 Rounds!"- Junko Hori *Osomatsu-kun (1966)- Fuyumi Shiraishi, Kazuko Sawada (understudy for episodes 4, 27-31) *Furious Ataro (1969)- Kazuko Sugiyama *Osomatsu-kun (1988), CR Osomatsu-kun, and Pachislot Osomatsu-kun- Naoko Matsui *Osomatsu-san- Aya Endo Live Action Yumiko Endo portrayed Totoko in the 1985 Fuji TV special Iyami and Chibita's Cooking Showdown!. In this adaptation, Chikako (played by Kyoko Takami) was depicted as her sister. Foreign Names Foreign dubbing involving Totoko usually tends to be based from the 1988 series, where she has no surname. However, this can sometimes change in a dub. Gallery Trivia * In the postscript to "Osomatsu-kun" in 1989, Akatsuka disputed the idea of Totoko and Akko being the same character or even looking similar, claiming that it was not the case. However, it has also been claimed that during his lifetime he had made statements such as "Totoko equals Akko". It is noticeable that in works featuring the Star System, only one girl or the other will be used, leading to the idea that they're roles of the same "actor". A frontispiece gag in Reading Dai-sensei pokes fun at the identical appearances, with Totoko and Akko introducing themselves to each other and the readers. They are also depicted as looking shocked to see each other in an Akatsuka 80th anniversary art piece by Katta Yoshi. * Ultimately, Fujio Pro states these two are entirely separate people, citing their "different names and personalities" as evidence. In Totoko's profile on Koredeiinoda, it also states that "it's charming that Totoko and Akko are like two peas in a pod" (lit: 瓜二つ, "urifutatsu", "two cucumbers", from a similar saying in Japanese). But as with cases like Kantaro and Chibita, or Camera Kid and Ryunoshin, it could also be theorized that the two may have initially been developed as roles of the same design/actor, but then became separate. * As Tomoko Ino's name was inspirational for the characters of Tomoko in O-chan's Eleven Friends and that of Moko in Akko-chan's Got a Secret! (to where her initial full name was "Tomoko Ina"), it is entirely plausible that her name also inspired that of Totoko, but that Akatsuka altered it to make a pun on "toto"/fish to fit her fishmonger's daughter setting. References External Links * Totoko profile at Koredeiinoda (Japanese) * Totoko profile at Fujio Pro (Japanese) Category:Characters and Mascots Category:Osomatsu-kun